A yarn that is spun using pre-dyed fibers. These fibers are blended together to give a particular look. (For example, black and white may be blended together to create a gray heathered yarn.) The term, heather, may also be used to describe the fabric made from heathered yarns.

Fabrics that are preshrunk (usually cotton) are more likely to retain their shape and size because, before the garment is manufactured, the fabric is subjected to a shrinking process to reduce the amount of shrinking during laundering